Idaho may change to caucus system
by Daniel Moore
Press staff writer
Idaho voters voting in a presidential primary may now have to declare which party they belong to before voting – that is if presidential primaries in Idaho continue to exist.
Because of a bill passed last year, political parties can require voters to declare themselves affiliated with their party when voting. The bill was prompted by a federal ruling in a lawsuit against the state by the Republican Party. In the past, the state has not required voters to declare a party to vote in a primary.
A letter sent out by Power County Clerk Chris Steinlicht to registered voters in Power County included a form that allows voters to declare their party before voting in a primary. There are four parties recognized by Idaho: Democrat, Republican, Constitution, and Libertarian. The primary is set to take place on Tuesday, May 15, but may not be held if either of two bills are approved that are now in the Idaho Legislature. The Democratic Party will allow unaffiliated voters to vote in their primary, but voters must declare a party to vote in the other primaries.
The Republican Party is holding a caucus to decide who it wants as its party’s presidential candidate two months before the primary is scheduled to take place, making the primary irrelevant for Republican voters. A caucus is an informal voting procedure run by the party itself, while the primary is a formal vote run by the state. The Democratic Party held a caucus in the 2008 presidential election.
Forms to declare party affiliation will be available at the Republican caucus held at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Tuesday, March 6, at 7 p.m., and party affiliation must also be declared to participate in the caucus.
The form needs to be turned in to the clerk’s office by Friday, March 9, by state mandate; however, unaffiliated voters can also declare their party at the primary election if there is one. All registered voters are declared unaffiliated until they declare their affiliation. Affiliated voters can change their affiliation each year. Parties don’t need to be contacted once affiliation is declared.
Steinlicht said the county sent the letters so there would not be as much confusion at the polls because of the change. However, poll workers will be expecting some confusion, she said.
“It’s a big change from what Idahoans are used to,” she said.
However, the presidential primary election won’t be the only election taking place on Tuesday, May 15. A judicial election will also be taking place, and there may be bonds that need to be voted on as well, Steinlicht said. Voters need to participate in the election even if they aren’t affiliated with a party, Steinlicht said.
One bill in front of the Idaho legislature now would get rid of all presidential primaries, making the change to caucuses instead. Another would get rid of all presidential primaries and move all other primaries to August. Both have an emergency declaration making them effective immediately after they are approved.
During the Republican Caucus in Power County, Republicans will vote in a series of secret ballot elections. After each round, the candidate with the least amount of votes and any candidate with less than 15 percent of the vote will be dropped from the next round, finally settling on a single candidate. Power County will then send the results to the Idaho Republican Party, said Moon Wheeler with the party.
The Idaho Republican Party will divide its delegates, which count as votes at the national Republican Convention, among the counties. The Idaho party is required to stick to those delegates for the first round of voting at the convention, but may change delegates as different rounds of voting occur, Wheeler said.
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